Optimus Prime's truck cab vehicle mode is the one that undergoes the most "proportional alterations" to get it to work with the Remote-Controlled gimmick when compared to the other two from this unique assortment. The back end of the cab is VERY squat and shortened-- the whole vehicle mode looks very much like it's been squished to make its length and width much more even with each other than they should be. It's still quite recognizable as a truck, but it definitely looks very "Playskoolish" and intended for very young kids-- even though, for this assortment, that might not necessarily be the case. Prime's mold detailing is sparse in some major areas, but quite detailed in others, such as his front grill and smokestacks. Prime's traditional color scheme of dark blue and red is still used here, but both shades of plastic are rather eye-catching, being semi-metallic, milky shades of their respective colors. They contrast against each other quite well, and all of the silver paint on the wheels, smokestacks, windows, and grill helps to keep the toy from looking too one-tone in any major area. (I am disappointed that his taillights are molded in on the rear but aren't painted at all, though-- same with the headlights, though at least all the silver paint near them help to negate the lack of paint on the latter.)
    Like all of the toys in the Remote Control assortment, Optimus Prime also comes with a small remote. What's quite cool about this remote is that it can be set on three different frequencies, with a slider on the side to select the one you want to use; the toy also has a corresponding slider on the bottom, allowing you to set it at the "I", "II", or "III" frequency. This allows three different people to control the three different toys in this assortment separately and at the same time! Nice forward-thinking, there. Prime's remote has some nifty "armor panel" detailing on it and is largely the rather meh shade of grayish brown that's more prominent in Prime's robot mode, but there is a bit of dark blue and red paint apps on the remote, along with an Autobot symbol, to distinguish this as the remote that's meant to control Optimus. The remote itself is quite simple, though-- don't expect to get your Optimus toy to do anything spectacular. There's a "conversion" button that will have Optimus transform from his current mode to his other mode (accomplished by either having the front two-thirds of the toy spread out/collapse together and rotate up or down, depending upon which way you're transforming him). The other button causes the toy to move forward-- no other directions are available, though in actuality Optimus moves forward at an ever-so-slight angle, so he'll slowly turn to face another direction. That said, the lack of other directions for him to move is my big beef with this aspect of the toy. In vehicle mode, because he's got all four wheels on the ground, Optimus will move forward fairly steadily, even on some carpet-- however, because he's only on his rear wheels in robot mode, he can get "caught" on carpet a bit easier there.
    Optimus Prime's robot mode definitely has some pretty weird proportions-- even moreso than the other two Remote Control toys, given how much of a departure it is from his show model. His lower body is a big stump with wheels on the sides and two little feet on the front. He's got some decent mold detailing on his front waist and "internal parts" on the sides of his body, which consists of the aforementioned somewhat ugly shade of grayish brown (at least it's not very noticeable from most angles). The chest also sits too far forward and is overly fat, and his arms are very two-dimensional, with only their placement and the silver-painted fists at the end of said arms making it obvious that they ARE arms. The truck roof also sits fairly plainly on Optimus' back, though compared to all his other proportional maladies this kibble is pretty minor. Optimus' headsculpt is quite well-done, though, and is quite accurate to the toy both in terms of mold and paint detailing, so no issues there. For articulation (ignoring his remote-controlled movement), he can rotate his upper body to the right (but only right), and you can push back his arms a bit, though they're spring-loaded which means that they pop right back into their default position as soon as you let go of them. All of this odd articulation, though, is for what I think is the coolest part of the toy-- the way Optimus "walks" in this mode. Unlike in vehicle mode, Optimus doesn't simply roll forward when you press the corresponding button on his remote-- no, as he's moving forward, his upper body will swish from side-to-side, his arms swinging appropriately, like he's "walking" (even though his lower body stays inert if you don't count his wheels). It's a pretty neat and addictive gimmick that it took me surprisingly long to get bored with-- it's just fun to watch a chubby littl' Optimus waddle around on the floor.
    Optimus Prime largely has the same features and flaws as the other Remote Control toys, in that his proportions are quite messed up in both modes, and I wish his remote allowed him to do a few additional actions/movements. However, compared with the other two toys in his assortment, Prime is my least favorite, because of just how MUCH they had to distort his proportions in both modes to get him to work with the (quite cool) gimmick. (Plus, Optimus doesn't have a grill-chest on the show.) Obviously this toy is aimed at a select market anyways-- those who want a remote-controlled Prime toy that transforms-- and Optimus does do that, albeit with limited movement. Just keep in mind his design makes even more compromises to get the gimmick working than the other Remote Control toys.

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Review by Beastbot

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